Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1363 - 1356: The Pre-Industrial Age

Chapter 1363: Chapter 1356: The Pre-Industrial Age

The latest promotion of magic power was first applied to the production of military weapons, which improved the production efficiency of the flintlock smoothbore gun.

After an entire year of development, the Demon Clan’s army had once again recovered its vitality, and the production of more than five thousand new firearms had been fully equipped. In addition, the Demon Clan’s light cavalry was equipped with almost a thousand new rifled guns, mostly flintlock, but some had been transformed into percussion guns to test the reliability of these weapons.

The main equipment of the light cavalry was a rifled long gun and a rifled short gun, which were still muzzle-loaded, mainly firing Minié balls. They were not issued bayonets but instead given a saber for self-defense.

The greatest help Western Continent people gave to the Demon Clan’s army was the creative introduction of the concept of paper-cartridge ammunition, which significantly increased the overall firing efficiency of the Demon Clan’s forces.

During the defense battle of Lingyuan City, the Demon Clan’s army still used the old method of loading ammunition, which was very inefficient. With the help of Western Continent people, they began to try using cartridge ammunition.

During the counterattack battle a year ago, the Demon Clan’s army confirmed the reliability and convenience of this scheme, so a year later, cartridge ammunition had become the standard ammunition reserve for the Demon Clan’s army.

In addition to the firearms, the Demon Clan also produced about two hundred various types of artillery. Most were infantry guns, with a small proportion being very advanced mortars, mainly firing delayed bursting shells.

This type of mortar had grooves etched into its bore, and it used specialized shells that matched these grooves for firing, with a coverage radius exceeding two kilometers, essentially covering the enemy’s rear during visibility warfare.

Mortars were originally intended for use against sturdy fortifications and walls, but with the use of fragmentation grenades, these guns became terrifying weapons designed specifically to kill and maim enemy forces.

Relying solely on light cavalry to reduce the enemy’s cavalry numbers was not easy, so in addition to the line infantry, the Demon Clan’s army also had a large number of sword and shield bearers and spearmen to support and cover the line infantry, to prevent the recurrence of the accident that happened a year ago.

At this point, the main components of the Demon Clan’s army consisted of four parts. The first was the vast number of line infantry, the absolute main force in charging into battle, predominantly made up of the Kyushu people. Next was the artillery, composed of both Kyushu people and the Demon Clan members, although not as numerous as the line infantry, they were still a main force in warfare.

Then there was the light cavalry, composed entirely of Demon Clan people, with only a few hundred individuals, but it was an elite force responsible for guerrilla operations. Finally, there were various support troops, including sword and shield bearers and spearmen, responsible for coordinated defense operations to prevent the formation from being charged by enemy cavalry.

It has been repeatedly emphasized before; the decline of cavalry was not caused by firearms, but by rapid-fire weapons. Until the Demon Clan developed rapid-fire weapons, cavalry would always be the greatest threat to the formations.

After more than a year of propaganda, those Kyushu people who had joined the Southern Demon Clan had largely accepted their identity as members of the Southern Demon Clan and no longer longed for the Dongsheng Empire.

In general, Linglan’s governance was indeed effective, and the newly established national community showed the vitality that a burgeoning nation should have.

While the Southern Demon Clan Federation continued to develop, there were also changes with the Dongsheng Empire’s forces in the south. The situation was gradually moving in the direction that the Demon Clan wanted to see; the Dongsheng forces in West Outer Heaven continued to contract, with thirty percent of the infantry and about sixty percent of the cavalry being transferred elsewhere.

It was said that the successive failures of the Dongsheng forces in West Outer Heaven had aroused the reactions of neighboring countries around the Dongsheng Empire; the alien nations to the northeast were already restless, and the nomadic tribes to the west had launched several raids. The Dongsheng Empire urgently needed to withdraw troops from West Outer Heaven to secure the border.

This was an excellent opportunity because all of the Demon Clan’s military preparations were designed to counter the Dongsheng forces in their prime; now that the Dongsheng forces were continually shrinking, this meant that the Demon Clan’s offensives would become increasingly smooth.

However, one should not be overly optimistic because it is evident, even with the Dongsheng Empire in domestic crisis, that they have not withdrawn all their forces from West Outer Heaven. This alone indicates that the Dongsheng Empire still has the capability to respond to these border crises.

And their bargaining chip in dealing with these crises was inside the Kyushu territory, controlled by the aristocratic families: the Nine Thousand Battalion.

Previously, I mentioned the Nine Thousand Battalion, which can be understood as the private soldiers of the nobility families of the Dongsheng Empire. The Dongsheng Empire allows these noble families to garrison troops but has set a cap, which is no more than ten thousand people. As a result, the private soldiers of most aristocratic families hover around nine thousand nine hundred, giving rise to the term "Nine Thousand Battalion."

Since they couldn’t amass quantity, but the great families wanted to keep their edge, they insanely focused on quality. As previously stated, in Kyushu, the most likely destination for a Cultivator was the military, with the Nine Thousand Battalion being the best posting.

In the Dongsheng Empire, there has always been a saying, "A million soldiers at the rank-and-file level are no match for Han, the elite are all in the Nine Thousand Battalion." This also shows the gap between the Nine Thousand Battalion and the regular Dongsheng troops, with the former in place, the latter’s role was merely a formality.

However, it should be noted that the Nine Thousand Battalion are the private soldiers of the nobility, beyond the reach of the central Imperial Court, which is why the Dongsheng Empire has both its own military forces and the Nine Thousand Battalion.

These noble families would only mobilize the Nine Thousand Battalion when facing critical matters concerning their interests. By bringing back troops from the West Outer Heaven, the Dongsheng Court was merely making a gesture, signalling everyone to get involved to collectively counter the invasion of external enemies.

Despite the Dongsheng Empire favoring civil governance, the power of these noble families still influenced the nation, with several attempts at reform by the civil official faction ending in failure due to touching the interests of these families.

Primary among these families was their focus on cultivation, with each family having a few Cultivators who had greatly progressed in their practices, and even some families boasting powerful elders who had ascended. Their mere reputation was enough to shut the mouths of government officials.

According to reliable intelligence, the Dongsheng Empire had long since lost interest in the war in West Outer Heaven. After consecutive defeats by the Dongsheng military a year ago, the Dongsheng Court considered pulling back to Kyushu and ceding the cities.

But the noble families that had taken root in West Outer Heaven started causing trouble in the court, forcefully delaying the Dongsheng military’s retreat. As a result, not only would the Demon Clan forces have to face the Dongsheng military, but also the private soldiers led by these noble families themselves.

After a year of preparation, the Demon Clan was ready for a renewed assault, but they did not immediately take action. Instead, they waited for Luo’er’s propaganda campaign.

The reason they relied on Luo’er was that the proportion of the Human Race within the Demon Clan military had become very high. To go to war, they had to take into account the feelings of these people, otherwise there was no way to ensure combat effectiveness.

Although these people from Kyushu had joined the Southern Yao Race, it had been less than a year since their integration, thus naturally making it hard to form a new sense of ethnic identity. Directing them to mount a counterattack first meant having to persuade them.

Consequently, Luo’er’s workload became increasingly heavy as he constantly mobilized personnel for opinion guidance and propaganda efforts, staying extremely busy day in and day out.

"Mr. Luo’er, this is the latest street interview feedback report, please have a look," a Demon Clan member said politely, presenting Luo’er with a document.

Luo’er took the document, briefly browsed through it, and then looked up to ask, "Why are the feedback contents so similar? Are you sure you’re not trying to pull the wool over my eyes?"

"No, no, no, we wouldn’t dare. This truly reflects the survey results," the Demon Clan member quickly explained.

"So the interviews had no effect either," Luo’er muttered, then set aside the document and stood up saying, "I need a few people to come with me for a personal visit."

"Surely there’s no need for Mr. Luo’er to trouble himself with this," the Demon Clan member exclaimed, eyes wide with a worried expression.

"No, if those conducting the propaganda don’t understand what the silent majority is thinking, then the propaganda is just a castle in the air, unable to elicit a wider resonance," Luo’er said seriously.

"I, I understand," the Demon Clan member nodded, looking at him with admiration.